Good Things Never Last
by echozgreen
Summary: Someone has leaked the set list. Again. Everyone thinks Puck did it since he's been acting strange, but when Puck risks himself for another glee member, they start to see Puck cares more than they thought. Puck Whump. Post-juvie. PuckFinn friendship.
1. Accusations

Chapter 1: Accusations

* * *

It had been hard to take in the news that Kurt left New Directions. But most people didn't blame him. In fact, some of the members in Glee Club felt responsible that they didn't do enough to prevent Kurt from feeling he had to leave from all the bullying, but it was too late now. New Directions was just going to have to look past this whole ordeal and focus on Sectionals.

Puck was the first one at the Glee Club meeting today. All the other glee members thought it was unusual that not just today, but for the past few weeks Puck was always the first one there. Before Puck was thrown in juvie for crashing his mom's volvo and steeling an ATM machine, he would always be one of the last members to show up, even late sometimes. It wasn't just odd that he was the first one there, but it seemed that Puck was just sitting in the glee room like he had been waiting for them; almost like he got there really early and just waited and waited until people showed up. Even Mr. Schue arrived after Puck did.

But before anyone could think anymore out of it, Mr. Schue addressed the class, "Everyone, I have an annoucement to make." He seemed depressed, and everyone looked up and knew it was bad news by the tone of his voice.

"It seems that someone has leaked the set list for Sectionals. Again." Mr. Schue put emphasis on the last word, "And not only that, but it seems that someone has been tampering with the band's equipment, so we have to wait a while to practice with music."

"What? This can't be happening. Why would someone do this to us?" Rachel commented unbelievingly.

"Well it wasn't any of the Cheerios, we've been so caught up with practicing for Regionals, we barely have time to tie our own shoes," Quinn stated matter-of-factly.

"Maybe it was Sue," Mercedes didn't hesitate, "she's always trying to destroy glee club, and she was the one that leaked our set list last year."

"Sorry Mercedes, I've already asked Sue, and usually I wouldn't believe her, but she made a point that it wasn't her," Mr. Schue, of course, would think of Sue Sylvester as the prime suspect.

* * *

_"Sue!" Mr. Schue yelled across the halls of McKinley High. "Sue! Will you stop running!"_

_Sue stopped in her tracks, turned around and faced Will Schuester, "I am not running. I will have you know, I am speed walking. I am far too busy to have a chat with you or your insanely gelled hair. Besides, I purposely try to get away from you, I can barely stand the smell of your presence in this school as it is."_

_Mr. Schue rolled his eyes after hearing another one of Sue's long rants and got right to the point, "Did you leak our set list?"_

_"Well, I am insulted... and a little flattered. Giving credit to me for something so ingenious is an honor. Whoever did this should be awarded and applauded." _

_Sue was just about to turn around when Will caught her shoulder, "Are you forgetting you leaked the set list last year?"_

_"Listen, last year I openly flaunted leaking your set list. If I leaked it again, I would have been the first one to tell you. Besides, me and my cheerios are practicing everday around the clock for Regionals. My highly trained spies have infiltrated another school in Lima that's been working it's way up to the top with a new coach so I'm making my cheerios work extra hard this year in order to be on top __**where. we. belong." **__Sue made sure to poke Will hard in the chest for every word she emphasized at the end of her sentence._

_"Okay, Okay, I believe you. You make a valid point." Mr. Schue said, almost dissappointed he couldn't just blame it on Sue. _

_

* * *

_

"Okay, well if Coach Sylvester didn't do it, then it must have been someone in the glee club. No one else could have possibly known our set list," said Finn.

"Well if it wasn't the Cheerios, who was it? It's not like any of us have anything to gain from leaking our own set list," Puck said, and everyone sat quietly in thought, thinking of possible explanations.

Then all of a sudden, as if a lightbulb had lit over everyone's head, the entire glee club stared directly at Puck.

"Maybe it was you," Mercedes said like she knew Puck was the traitor without any second thought.

"What are you crazy? Why would I give away our set list?" Puck asked with a defensive tone.

"You've never liked Glee Club, you just got out of juvie, and you've been acting weird lately," Mercedes said.

"Acting weird? Like how?" Puck was getting angry now. After all this time, they still don't trust him. They still don't think he is loyal to glee club.

"...You know, Mercedes is kinda right, you've been coming early to Glee Club lately. That would give you enough time to tamper with the instruments without anyone seeing you," Finn said not wanting to come off too strong.

Everyone nodded they're heads in agreement. Puck was looking at everyone in the room.

"Oh c'mon guys! I did not tamper with those band geek's equipment! And I did not leak the set list!" Puck was out of his chair now, practically begging for someone to believe him.

Just when people were starting to think maybe Puck didn't do it, Artie says, "Well you have been acting kinda secretive."

"You too, Wheels? Please, enlighten me." Puck is starting to get fed up.

"Well, remeber that time we were in the locker room and I asked if I could get your extra gloves from your locker because I left mine in Glee?" Artie asked.

Puck raised his eyebrow, "Yeah, so?"

"So? You went crazy, wouldn't let me look in your locker. You told me that you didn't have your extra gloves and pushed me away from your locker. I almost ran into Sam."

"Yeah you were acting suspicious," Sam said quietly, afraid if he said it any louder he might get punched.

"Can it, big mouth!" Sam cringed while Puck continued, "listen I might have been acting weird, but I would never betray glee club." He said with sincerity.

It was silent, everyone was looking away from Puck trying to avoid eye contact. Puck's eyes were pleading for someone to believe him as he just stared at his fellow classmates avoiding his eyes looking down at their feet or the walls. Puck's previous anger had turned to sadness, although he tried not to show it. Puck didn't want people to see how much these accusations hurt him so he just sat back down in his seat and tried to put on the most pissed and badass face he could.

Mr. Schue decided to cut in, "I think that's enough, we don't know who did this for sure, but we can't just make assumptions without proof. There is no practice today because of the instruments, so we'll just have to reschedule for tomorrow. You're dismissed for now."

* * *

Well how do you like my first Glee fanfic? Reviews plz.


	2. Disowned

Chapter 2: Disowned

* * *

After being dismissed from glee club, Puck left the room right away; afraid that if he stayed any longer, the glee memebers would think he was tampering with the band equipment again, even though he never did. He doubts he'll ever admit it, but Puck liked glee club. He actually felt like he belonged there. He felt like he had... friends. But he would never say that out loud, and obviously the glee club didn't exactly feel the same way about him. Puck hated that emotional in-touch with your feelings crap, so it was probably for the better he wasn't too close with any of them.

Puck knew what he had to focus on from now on: he had to get to the bottom of who was destroying New Directions. And once he found out, he'd make sure everyone knew who the real culprit was. And then they would think twice before ever accusing Puckzilla ever again.

First, Puck decided if someone was trying to destroy the band instruments yesterday, maybe they'd try to finish the job today, so he'd wait until all of the glee nerds left so he could go in the New Directions room without anyone noticing and wait to see if anyone came in. They would most likely be the real traitor. He had nothing better to do anyway. He figured after staking out the place for a couple hours, he would grab a bite to eat somewhere with whatever money he had left.

Puck walked around the hallways until he saw Mr. Schue leave the school, and the hallways were pretty much empty except for maybe the occasional teacher or student from another club. Puck walked up to the New Directions door, when no one was around. Everyone had probably gone to their comfy homes with better things to do. They don't realize how easy they all have it, Puck thought.

Turning the door knob, Puck found that the door was locked. This wasn't a problem for the Puckster, espcecially since the school "couldn't afford" to pay for decent door knobs at this school. Anyone could pick a lock or break into anything at William McKinley High School.

"School budget cuts my ass," Puck said to himself, but was thankful at this moment his school was too cheap. He took out a paper clip from his backpack and bent it into a shape to fit in the key lock. Before picking the door's lock, he looked around a few times and waited for a stray student in the hallway to leave, making sure no witnesses saw him sneaking into the room. He jiggled it a little bit, keeping his ear close to the door to make sure he heard the "click" sound so he knew the door was unlocked.

Once Puck was in the room, he locked the door he from the inside. He knew he would probably be there for a while so he found a hiding spot behind a tall protruding cabinet that was out of view from the doorway. He sat behind it and just waited. While he waited, he fiddled with his fingers, flexed his muscles, and just tried to do things to occupy himself without making too much noise.

After what seemed like forever, which was probably only about an hour and a half, Puck heard a noise from the doorway. Someone was unlocking the door with a key. The bad thing about Puck's hiding place was, even though he couldn't be seen, he also couldn't see who was walking in. So Puck decided he would wait a minute until whoever was coming inside was fully inside the room. Puck tried to peak out, but the mystery person was over near the drumsets, out of view. So he slowly walked around the cabinet and swiftly jumped out.

"Who's there?" Puck screamed as he jumped out of his hiding spot with his fists up like he was ready to fight.

"Whoa, man! It's just me!" Puck relaxed and saw that it was only Finn standing there tall and dumbfoundedly. Finn had lifted his hands out of the pockets of his gray hoodie in defense.

"Finn? What are you doing here?" Puck said confused, he never would have thought Finn as the traitor.

"Dude, relax. I was just getting my drum sticks. I left 'em here, and I wanna practice tonight." Finn reached for the drum sticks he was talking about.

"Oh...," Puck said dissapointed, "Then why do you have a key to the room?"

Finn pointed outside toward the hall and said, "The janitor. I ran into him on the way in, and he said I could use them." Puck nodded his head a little as to motion that he believed him.

Puck and Finn stood there silent for a moment until Finn spoke up, "Anyways, what are you doing here? It's not such a good idea to be here. Everyone already thinks you're the mole."

"Dude, I was trying to catch the guy who's doing this. I'm not gonna get blamed for something that I didn't do." Puck said.

"Well I don't think whoever did this is coming. The janitor said he's locking up pretty soon." Finn said. He must have had a little chat with the janitor. No one knew his real name. People just knew him as "the janitor." He was an old guy that always wore the same dirty navy blue uniform and pretty much just mopped up the floors all day.

"Oh, okay. So... do you think it was me?" Puck asked.

Finn was suprised by the question, he couldn't believe Puck cared this much about the accusations made against him, "I don't know, man. It does make sense."

"Ugh!" Puck was getting aggravated once again and rubbed a hand over his head against his mohalk, "I know, man. I know it looks like it was me, but you just have to trust me."

"Alright, dude...," Finn looked in Puck's dark brown eyes and saw that Puck was looking for anyone, just anyone, to believe him, "...I believe you, but don't make me regret it."

Finn saw Puck relax, and Puck was relieved someone was on his side. Finn started to walk away with his drum sticks in his hand when Puck said silently with his head down, "Thanks, man."

"What?" Finn was halfway out the door when he turned around to face Puck.

"Thanks." Puck looked up. He didn't realize how hard it was to thank someone, "It doesn't seem like much, but... I need someone to believe me. It helps. So, Thanks."

Finn tried to make it seem like he wasn't so suprised, "No problem, man." Then Finn gave a slight smile, turned around, and left.

Puck waited until he heard the front entrance to the school doors echo as they shut closed in the empty school. He took a deep breath and sighed. Finn was right, no one was going to come once the janitor locked the doors. He walked across the school to the boy's locker room near the football field, and on the way he got a some chips and a coke from the vending machine and ate it on the way to the lockers.

Once he was in the locker room, Puck opened his locker.

The reason he was so secretive about his locker towards Artie, or anyone for that matter, was because he didn't want anyone to discover what was in it, of course. A pillow, a blanket, and his toothbrush. Plus some other stuff he had in there from before like deodorant and extra clothes. Since his locker wasn't enough room to keep all his stuff, he keeps some other clothes in his backpack.

What no one knew about Puck since he got out of juvie was that his mom had pretty much disowned him. When Puck was in juvie, no one had visited him. Not even his mom. And by the time he got out of juvie his mom pretty much told him that he couldn't live in her house anymore.

Puck sat on a bench, dosed off and thought back to the day they released him on good behavior and instead got community service.

* * *

_"Noah Puckerman," One of the security guards yelled out._

_Puck was messing around with his food. He honestly couldn't tell what the slop was, but then his train of thought was interupted when he heard his name being called. He looked up from his seat in the mess hall in a corner all alone and replied, "Yeah?"_

_"Come with me, please." _

_After being escorted to a tiny office, the security guard offered him a seat and left the room. A minute later a middle-aged woman in a black pantsuit walked with her curley hair tied back and sat down behind her desk._

_"Mr. Puckerman," she got right to the point, "it says here that you... stole your mother's volvo, crashed it into a convenience store, and then stole the ATM machine?"_

_Puck looked down at the pair of dirty black worker boots they had given him, not wanting to make eye contact, "Yes, maam."_

_She looked at him incredulously and gathered her thoughts, "Well, um. Okay," She continued, "You've been behaving since you've been in here, and no one was hurt from your felony. So we are giving you the option of community service."_

_Puck looked up now, giving her his full attention, "Will it get me out of here?" Puck said anxiously._

_"Yes, but it will take a while to complete all your hours."_

_"I don't care, just get me out of this place," Puck was on the edge of his seat._

_"Alright then, we can have you released today, and we'll call you tomorrow about what we will do for your community service hours," she said, glad she could get this meeting over with._

_"Cool. Where do I get my stuff?" Puck asked._

_"On your way out, a security guard will escort you. Just sign this release form, and you'll be on your way." She said sending him away._

_Puck signed the form as quickly as possible and followed the security gaurd to the exit where he got all of his things he came in with. A cellphone, a pack of mint gum, and his clothes, which were a pair of jeans, a pair of black shoes, a light gray t-shirt, and a dark gray jacket. He had to change into his clothes before he was aloud to exit the buidling. __He walked out the door so happy that he didn't have to spend another minute with those mosters taking his eggos or pushing him around._

_He took out his phone and turned it on. With the little battery he had left, he dialed his mom. After a few rings she picked up. "Hey, Ma. It's me Noah."_

_After hearing about ten minutes of yelling on the other end he said, "Yeah, well they let me out early. Instead I gotta do community service. But um... Can you come pick me up?"_

_Puck wasn't sure if he was hearing right so he asked, "No? What do you mean no? Why won't you come pick me up?"_

_He was walking away from juvenile hall, afraid they might hear him screaming at his phone and declare him mentally unstable._

_"What? Just like that, you're kicking me out?" He paused and waited for a reply, "Yes you are! You're kicking out your own son and putting him on the streets." He heard her say something about not wanting trash in her house, but he was holding his phone away from his ear so he couldn't make it all out._

_"Can I atleast come pick up some stuff?" Puck asked with the phone against his ear now, and he just accepted the fact his mom was kicking him out. _

_"Just real quick Ma, I'll be over around 5:00." Puck said. His mom yelled something over the phone and he yelled back, "It'll only take a few seconds! Alright! Yeah! Thanks for all your help!" He said with sarcasm, and he hung up his phone._

_"Godammit!" He screamed. He almost slammed the cellphone on the pavement, but he knew that this phone was the only way he could contact people, and if he destroyed it now he couldn't afford a new one. Maybe his mom would still pay the bill for the phone. If not he would just use it until it expired at the end of the month. He made a mental note to get the phone charger while he was home._

_After walking all the way to his mom's house, Puck went in and out of his former home as fast as he could to get his stuff so he didn't have to deal with too much yelling and screaming, Puck wondered where he could go to crash. He couldn't ask Finn. There was still tension between them, even though it wasn't as bad anymore. No. Puck couldn't ask that of Finn after all he did to him._

_Rachel. Definitly No. Puck would definitly not. He wouldn't stand living with her and her big mouth. God, just the thought of Rachel's never ending talking was annoying him. Besides, Finn would not like Puck living at his girlfriend's house._

_Let's see, Puck thought. He could ask someone on the football team... nah. Most of them were afraid of him, hated his guts, or barely talked to him. Mike and him weren't very close._

_Since Kurt and Finn live together, that's a no._

_Quinn... he wished. But he couldn't do that to her. She wanted to forget everything, and he respected her wishes. She had been through a lot last year. No. He would just stay out of her life, no matter how much he wanted to see her._

_Cheerios. No. It's not worth living with that drama 24/7. Plus they wouldn't let him live with them because he was homeless. That would ruin their reputation. And his if anyone found out._

_Tina, no. Sam, no. Mercedes, no._

_Maybe Artie. Hmm. No he's probably still sore after almost pushing him over in that porta-potty. But he could be a good way to get community service hours. _

_Damn, Puck thought, and just decided to go to the school. He ended up in the locker room since it was the only place on campus that was still unlocked. He slept there every night since he got out of juvie. The first night he slept there, it hit him hard: he was homeless._

_

* * *

_

The janitor cleaned the locker room during the day time, so it was kind of the perfect place to stay. Especially since it was never locked. The reason it was never locked was so people could come back and get their stuff after school hours just in case they forgot anything. Besides every locker had a lock on it anyway.

Puck took a shower then changed into his gym shorts and his white v-neck t-shirt, and decided to call it a night. He set his phone's alarm clock to 6:00 A.M. so he could get up before anyone could see him walking out of the locker room. He took the small pillow from his locker and put it on a bench that was in front of his locker. Then he took out his raggy and faded blanket. He layed his head on the pillow and draped the blanket over himself. Puck was worn out, but he stared at the ceiling of the locker room with a blank expression for a few minutes. Then he rolled over on his side, closed his eyes, and tried to make himself comfortable on the small area of space. Within ten minutes he had been resting silently, hoping maybe tomorrow would be better.

* * *

How'd you like the second chapter? I don't know how I like how this story is coming out, but review plz. Next chapter up soon hopefully.


	3. Lost

Chapter 3: Lost

* * *

It was early in the morning, and Puck was in a deep sleep on the bench in the locker room with his phone next to his ear. When all of a sudden.

_BEEEEEP_

The alarm on his phone went off. Loud. Puck's eyes burst open and he jumped from his spot, which caused him to fall off the bench onto the floor with a loud thud. He sat there for a few seconds and groaned in pain. Well, at least he was awake.

He took a quick shower, and changed into his last fresh pair of clothes; his red v-neck shirt and a pair of jeans. He would need to stop by the dry cleaner sometime, but he had a busy schedule today. He remembered glee club was rescheduled for today, and later that night there was going to be a football game, so Coach Beiste will probably have the football team show up an hour early for practice. That only gave him about an hour to do his laundry and come back to the school. Thank god he didn't have to clean up the freeway for his community service today. Usually they only made him do that on the weekends, but sometimes they would make him go on weekdays.

Puck was the only one at school. Not even a teacher was there, so Puck just waited. He waited for students and teachers to arrive. He waited until the school was full of people until he heard the bell that started off the school day.

It was an uneventful day. Class was pretty boring, as usual. Thankfully his grades have been going up, especially in Geometry. Artie had been helping him since that whole community service fiasco. Artie had been so nice to him, even though Puck was such a jerk. Artie had to pay the whole bill at Breadsticks by himself, but Puck had a reason for being so cheap. Puck needed the money. It's hard living on your own. That's why Puck played "One Love" with Artie for the money. That's why Puck skipped out on the bill. Puck hasn't had a decent meal since that night; he's just been living off fast-food or whatever he can get from the vending machines in the school. Puck missed his mom's steaming hot matzo ball soup and her delicious potato pancakes. Now Puck knew how Quinn felt when her parents kicked her out after finding out she was pregnant. That was harsh. Parents can be real cruel sometimes. Kurt's dad knew how a good parent should be. He always supported Kurt and looked out for him. Puck wished he had a dad like that. Before he thought anymore about that subject, Puck wondered where he could sleep.

Puck thought about asking Artie if he could stay with him for a little while. When Puck first got out of juvie, he wouldn't have asked, but they've kinda bonded over the past few weeks... it was worth a shot. Puck couldn't stand sleeping in that smelly room waking up with a sore neck.

Now that school was over, it was time for glee club. Recently, Puck just went right to glee club and waited for people to show up, but he couldn't do that anymore. It was too suspicious. He walked in after most of the glee members were already in the New Directions room.

Puck looked around the room and saw none of the cheerleaders were there. People were staring at him as he walked in, so he took a seat in the back row.

Mr. Schue then walked in wearing his usual collared shirt and vest, "Okay guys, as you can tell, the cheerios couldn't make it today because they have practice, so we'll just have to make-do without them today. So we already have a few backup songs for Sectionals, but we're gonna have to come up with a few more. Anyone have any ideas?"

"Oh! Mr. Schuester!" Rachel Berry said raising her hand, "I think we should stray from the obvious choices and pick something different. Something no one would expect."

"Hmm. Interesting thoughts, Rachel." Mr. Schue said not exactly sure he liked where she was going with this.

"What do you have in mind, Rachel?" Mercedes said arching her eyebrow.

"Well, after watching the MTV Video Music Awards this year, I really enjoyed Florence and the Machine's "Dog Days Are Over."

"Oh yeah! I love that song," Tina said, seeming happy about Rachel's song choice.

"Are you serious?" Mercedes asked.

"Well, of course I am, Mercedes. The vocals of that song are challenging, and it's different from the normal song choices," Rachel said.

"And if we could pull it off, it would be amazing," Tina stated, you could tell she really loved this song.

"Alright, now we have another song for sectionals," Artie said with a smile.

"Yeah, if no one tells the other teams about it again," Mercedes said, turning around to face Puck.

Puck didn't want to argue and get worked up again, so he just stared in her eyes and gave her the meanest look he could muster up.

"Okay, guys," Mr. Schue brought the attentions back to himself, "The band kids got most of their instruments tuned and fixed so we'll get to work on that song today, and finish it next meeting with the cheerios."

For about another half hour, the glee club worked on the choreography and gave Tina the lead role for the song. Everyone thought the song matched her voice the most. Puck was quiet most of the time. Not because he thought he should be, but he really had nothing to say. The song was okay, but not his style, and he really just didn't feel like commenting on anything. The meeting wasn't too long since the cheerios weren't there.

Now glee was over, and everyone had left the room. Puck was now the only one left in the room, and he didn't care anymore if people thought he was betraying them. Because he wasn't, and people could think what they want. The Puckasaurus doesn't care what other people think.

He walked across the room to the piano. He didn't really play it as much as his guitar, but he knew a few songs. He loved the sound a piano makes. It was beautiful. There was no other instrument in the world that could make such a beautiful sound like a piano could.

He sat down in the seat in front of the piano. He started to play some of the keys, just to hear the sound. Then he started to play the intro to one of the songs he knew on the piano.

Elsewhere, Finn was walking down the hall on his way to find his girlfriend, Rachel. She said that she wanted to discuss something about Sectionals and plans she has to improve our success rate if she got more solos. Then he had football practice and a game later. When he heard a noise coming from the New Directions room, Finn stopped in his tracks. Maybe it's the mole, Finn thought to himself, and he took the oppurtunity to go check.

Finn slightly cracked the door too peak in and was suprised by what he saw. It was Puck. He started to playing the piano. Finn didn't know if he should stay or leave, so he just decided to stay and watched just in case.

Puck always liked this song. It might not be the most badass song, but it kind of helped him feel better. So he started to sing the first verse.

_Can't believe it's over  
I watched the whole thing fall  
And I never saw the writing that was on the wall  
If I'd only knew  
The days were slipping past  
That the good things never last  
That you were crying_

Finn watched intently as Puck sang. It was really weird. Finn never saw Puck like this. Puck just kept singing with a blank expression staring at his fingers play the keys on the piano, but he sang with power and emotion. It was a weird combination.

_Summer turned to winter  
And the snow it turned to rain  
And the rain turned into tears upon your face  
I hardly recognized the girl you are today  
And god I hope it's not too late  
mmm' It's not too late_

While Puck was singing, Finn just stared with a wide-eyed expression. What was going on with Puck?

_'Cause you are not alone  
I'm always there with you  
And we'll get lost together  
'Til the light comes pouring through  
'Cause when you feel like you're done  
And the darkness has won  
Babe, you're not lost  
When your worlds crashing down  
And you can't bear the thought  
I said, babe, you're not lost_

Puck had an amazing voice, but Finn found it unnerving how much emotion Puck was putting into the song. He knew it sounds harsh, but Finn, or anyone in glee club for that matter, didn't think Puck had feelings. Well, they knew he had feelings, they just didn't think that he ever expressed them. Sadness? Puck was never sad. He was "badass." At least that's what Finn thought. Puck really has changed since he got out of juvie. Actually he's changed since he joined glee, too.

_Life can show no mercy  
It can tear your soul apart  
It can make you feel like you've gone crazy  
But you're not  
Things have seemed to changed  
There's one thing that's still the same  
In my heart you have remained  
And we can fly fly fly away_

Finn could tell the song was almost over, so he started to walk down the hall. He wanted to leave before Puck noticed he was there. He felt bad for Puck now. He never realized this whole trust thing meant this much to him, but it couldn't just be that? Could it?

Puck was unnaware of the one-man audience he had previously had, and continued the song until he finished.

_'Cause you are not alone_  
_And I am there with you_  
_And we'll get lost together_  
_'Til the light comes pouring through_  
_'Cause when you feel like you're done_  
_And the darkness has won_  
_Babe, you're not lost_  
_When the worlds crashing down_  
_And you can not bear the cross_  
_I said, baby, you're not lost*_

Puck felt better, like he had gotten it all out of his system. He took a deep breath, stood up, and exited the room.

After, Puck went to the locker room, put his dirty clothes in his backpack and walked to a laundromat that was about five minutes away from the school. He finished up, and put his now clean clothes back in his bag. Then he walked back to the football field where the football team was already starting to practice.

"Puckerman!" Coach Beiste yelled, "What took you so long? Go get your uniform on and start warming up!"

"Alright, Coach" Puck said while he jogged toward to the locker room, "Be there in a minute."

With that, Puck went to the locker room and changed into his football uniform with his number twenty jersey. Just some practice and a game and he was done with the day. Let's just get this over with, Puck thought as he walked onto the football field.

* * *

*The song is "Lost" by Michael Bublé

You should listen to it :) I thought since I'm writing a Glee fic I should use music.

Anyways, thanks for the reviews. I hope you like how the story is going. I have to write a research paper for school, but I'll try to get the next chapter done ASAP. Expect Puck-whumpage. Mwahaha.


	4. Break

Chapter 4: Break

* * *

"What are you doing Puckerman? Get your head in the game!" Coach Beiste shouted over the noise of the screaming crowd.

Practice had gone relatively fast now that the football team had gotten used to Beiste's way of coaching.

Last year McKinley High lost to the team they were currently playing against, but this year, thanks to the new and improved team, this game could easily be won. Puck didn't see why the coach was getting so upset with him. Okay, so he dropped the ball, big deal. They were only at second down and 5 yards away from the touchdown they needed to put themselves in the lead to win the game.

The team huddled up, and Finn started planning, "Okay, we're only a few yards away the goal line, so we'll do a running play up the middle. Artie get ready. If we don't make it the first time, then we'll get it the second time around."

"Alright, gotcha Finn." Artie said a little nervous from the pressure. It was a little ironic that Artie was "running back" given his condition.

"I don't like the looks those punks are giving us," Puck said looking at the other team. He was right. They didn't look happy.

"Yeah, they looked pissed." Mike said with a gulp.

"Don't worry about them guys, we just need to finish this play and we win. Alright hands in." Finn said putting one of his hands in the middle of the circle. Everyone did the same as Finn.

They all screamed "Break!" as to break the huddle, and then they dispersed to go get in their position.

When Puck was walking onto the field, he locked eyes with a player on the opposing team. He had dark brown eyes and dark brown, almost black hair. His jersey number was thirty, and he saw his last name was Johnson. He was tall like Finn, except five times more buff. Puck noted his motion toward Artie with a vengeful expression and decided to keep an eye on him.

"Hike!" Finn yelled.

As planned, Finn passed the ball to Artie. Since Artie was handicapable, no one usually tried to tackle him. But before Artie could get more than a few feet, Johnson, the player Puck was watching, had reached his long leg out in front of Artie's wheel chair while holding off one of their teammates.

"Hey!" Puck yelled out as he witnessed what unfolded in front of him.

Artie flew forward out of his chair; his face hitting the ground hard with his wheel chair toppling over. His helmet shielded him from most of the blow. Luckily the fall had managed to get Artie a couple yards closer to a touchdown, but the ref didn't call a penalty.

"Artie! Are you okay?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, man. Don't worry, I'm fine." Artie said brushing the grass and dirt off of himself.

"What the hell, dude?" Puck said as he stomped over to Johnson of the other team.

"Hahaha. What? He tripped." Johnson said with a smirk.

"This is bullshit! You tripped him! Ref, didn't you see that?" Puck turned to ask the referee.

"No penalty on the play." The ref said sure of himself.

"What are you blind?" Puck yelled.

"Just accept defeat losers, we're gonna win this game." Johnson said.

"Up yours, you piece of..." Puck mumbled to himself as he turned to help Artie back to his chair with Finn.

"Don't worry about him guys, we're only like two yards away from a touchdown. We got this," Artie said while pushing himself to the sideline where the huddle was forming.

"Artie's right guys, we can do this." Finn said to the huddle.

Puck was growling and giving the eye to Johnson when he felt someone slap him on the back of his head.

"Ow! What the hell man?" Puck snapped his head back to the huddle.

"Stay focused, dude. He's a jerk, but we just need to get to a touchdown and then we never have to worry about him again." Finn said.

"Hmph. Fine. But if I wasn't on probation for this juvie thing, I would so beat the crap out of him. No one messes with Artie and gets away with it." Puck said.

"Wow, thanks Puck." Artie said with gratitude, it was nice to know Puck was protective of Artie. It made him feel safer.

"No problem, Wheels." Puck said, but was still looking around for Johnson to give him the evil eye.

"Okay, same play as before," Finn said with his hand in the middle, "Ready..."

"Break!"

The crowd was silent and there was tension in the air. Finn looked around to make sure everyone was in position.

Puck was focused on Johnson, although Johnson wasn't watching him.

Artie waited for the call while a sweat bead rolled down the side of his head.

"Hike!" Finn shouted for the final time.

The play started off clean. Artie grabbed the ball, and Finn was right behind him, fighting off another player.

Then Johnson broke through the defense and was heading towards Artie, but this time, it he wasn't gonna hold back. Right when Johnson put his hands on Artie's chair as though ready to flip him, someone shoved him away.

"That's right, bitch." Puck said smirking evily.

"What do you think your doing!" Johnson said regaining his composure.

Artie made it to the touchdown line with a few seconds left and the horn was blown.

They had won.

The McKinley football team walked over to Artie and started to congradulate him on his touchdown and winning the game.

After changing out of their uniforms, most people had gone home. Puck was walking out to the the parking lot with Finn and Artie. He decided that he would ask Artie if he could crash with him tonight.

"Alright, see you guys later," Finn said walking to his car.

Puck and Artie stood in the parking lot in silence for a few seconds when Puck started, "Hey, man, I was wondering if I could..." He was cut off by someone grabbing his shoulder.

Right when Puck was turning around he was hit by someone's fist and fell backwards. A huge gash formed on Puck's head. "What the hell?" Puck looked up and saw it was Johnson.

"Artie, go get Finn." Puck said serioulsy.

"But..." Artie started to protested but was cut off.

"Artie. Go get Finn now. Before he leaves." Puck kept his eyes focused on Johnson the entire time.

"Where do you think you're going?" Johnson turned his attention to Artie and grabbed his wheel chair, when a fist collided with Johnson's face.

Artie was free and started to cross the huge parking lot to try to get Finn before he left.

Johnson looked back to Puck holding his now bleeding and broken nose, and started for Puck, hitting him in the abdomen.

Puck fell to his knees holding his stomach with his arms.

"Dude," Puck coughed a little, "Did you forget to take your meds?" Puck asked tauntingly, but he was also kind of serious.

"You should shut that mouth of yours!" He yelled while kicking Puck hard in his chest. Puck screamed as a loud crack was heard coming from his chest.

"Insane piece of..." Puck started while on the floor, but was interrupted by a coughing fit.

"What'd you say?" Johnson grabbed Puck by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up. He pulled his fist back ready to punch him.

"Hey! Get off of him!" Finn yelled as he started to pull Johnson away from Puck. Artie was a few feet away keeping his distance. Puck dropped to his knees as Johnson lost grip of his shirt.

"Let go of me!" He loosened Finn's grip on him and gave Puck one last kick that sounded like it broke a couple more ribs. Puck coughed uncontrollably. He felt like his chest was burning.

Finn was furious now. He came up from behind Johnson and punched him hard. Johnson's head snapped back and he crumpled to the floor unconcious.

"Finn, check to make sure Puck's okay." Artie said from a distance.

Finn walked over to Puck and bent down, "You okay, man?"

"Ugh, feel great." Puck said as if he couldn't breathe, but he wasn't missing the sarcasm.

"You look bad... I think you might have to go to a hospital." Finn said.

"I'm fine. It's...," Puck started to cough, "...not that bad."

"I don't know, Puck. You don't sound too good," Artie was now hovering over Puck.

"Whatever. Finn, help me up." Puck reached out a hand and Finn pulled Puck up into a standing position.

Puck started to waver so Finn steadied Puck and let him lean on his shoulder, "Puck? We need to get you to a hospital.

Puck smiled and said shakily, "Puckzilla doesn't go to hospitals." This caused him to burst into another coughing fit.

"This time he does." Finn said.

"I..." Puck brought his coughing under control, "I could go back to juvie for this." He struggled with the rest of his sentence, "I can't go to the hospital."

Puck started coughing again. He couldn't breath, and he fell to his knees while Finn tried to catch him unsuccessfully. Puck was now on his knees and had one hand steading himself on the floor, and one hand covering his mouth. His vision was getting blurry. He thought he tasted something metallic in his mouth, so he pulled his hand away and saw what was on his hand. Blood. Puck was coughing up blood.

That can't be good, Puck thought.

"Hey, Puck, you with me?" Finn asked trying to pull Puck back up to his feet.

Puck nodded his head as he tried to cease his coughing.

"C'mon we need to get you to a hospital. It'll be faster if we take my car." Finn said as he had Puck's arm slung around his shoulder, escorting Puck to his car.

Artie was calling his dad to tell him that he was going to the hospital instead of picking him up at the school.

"You okay?" Finn said to Puck as he put him in the passenger seat of his car.

"Mhmm." Puck mumbled with his head leaning against the passenger seat window and his eyes closed.

"Puck, try to stay awake." Finn said while loading Artie in the backseat.

Finn shut the door, got in the driver seat and started the car, "Alright the hospital's just around the corner."

Finn turned his head to check on Puck and he didn't look too good. He looked pale, his eye's were slightly open and he was leaning his head against the window.

"Artie, start talking to him." Finn said as he hit the gas on the car to go faster.

"What do I say?" Artie said panicking.

"I don't know! Anything! Just keep him awake." Finn urged.

"You two need to get a room." Puck spoke up directing his vision towards Finn with his head still leaning against the window. Well at least he still had some humor. That was a good sign. Right?

"Hey, I see the hospital," Artie said pointing to a tall building a couple blocks down.

Finn smiled with relief, but then turned to Puck and saw he was wavering. Puck eye's were barely open and he was dozing off.

"Dude, just stay awake for a little bit longer." Finn said while shaking Puck with one free hand.

"Srry, Finn," Puck slurred.

"C'mon, don't be sorry, just stay awake." Finn pleaded, but it was no use.

The thumping in Puck's head was starting to disappear and his eyelids were growing heavy. Then, the bright street lights Puck saw in front of him started to fade and everthing went dark.

"Puck?" Finn asked unsure if Puck was still awake. He looked over, and Puck's eyes were closed. He made no movements and he was limp in the seat. That's not good, Finn thought as he pulled into the hospital driveway.

"Puck!" Finn put the car in park and rushed around the car, "Artie! Watch Puck while I go get some help."

"Hurry, Finn!" Artie said while sitting in the back seat. What was wrong with Puck. He didn't see too much blood. Puck's breathing was really weird though, but at least he _was_ breathing.

Seconds later Puck's door was opened by Finn. Puck started to fall, but Finn caught Puck before he fell anymore out of the car, "My friend needs help," he said to the doctors behind him.

Immediatly they started to lift Puck on a gurney and wheel him into an emergency room.

"Finn...," Artie began to ask with his head down, "Do you think Puck's gonna be okay?"

Finn had gotten Artie out of the car and was pushing him towards the waiting room and replied, "Yeah, he's gotta be okay, right? I mean, he's Puck."

* * *

Well, I love me some Puck-whump. Next chapter, I'll try to wrap up the story. I hope you like it. I really do. Because I had to rewrite the second half of chapter like five times after the Document Manager didn't save it. Now I know not to use the spell check when editing chapters, I think that's why it didn't save. So you better enjoy.


	5. Wait

Chapter 5: Wait

* * *

_Ringgg! ... Ringgg! ... Rrr-_

On the third bell, Kurt was able to get to the phone and picked it up, "Hello?"

_"Hey, Kurt..." Finn said not sure what to say._

"Oh, Finn. It's just you. Is something wrong?" Kurt thought he heard something off in Finn's voice through the phone.

_"Um, well actually... yeah there is." Finn thought back to the events that occurred earlier that night. It was hard to say out loud. It made everything more real, "I'm at the hospital."_

"What?" Kurt gasped, "Are you all right? Ohmygod! What happened?"

_"Kurt, Kurt! Calm down! I'm fine..." Finn paused, "It's Puck, he got hurt in a fight."_

"Noah?" Kurt sighed, "Hm. He would get in a fight, that hot head,"

_"No, it wasn't like that. He got hurt protecting Artie," Finn said with a hint of guilt in his voice._

"Oh, well how is he?" Kurt showed some concern for the former school bully.

_"He looked pretty bad last I saw him. He's in the emergency room now. But um, I was just calling to ask if you could tell my mom that I'm probably gonna stay over night, you know... make sure Puck's okay when he wakes up and everything. It's pretty late, but you can come if you want," Finn paused and remembered one last thing, "Oh, and do you mind breaking the news to the rest of the Glee club? It's just..."_

Kurt cut Finn off before he could finish anymore of his sentence, "Don't worry about a thing, Finn, I got it covered. You've been through a lot today. Just take it easy and make sure Puckerman's okay. I'll come by the hospital later."

_Finn was relieved, he wasn't sure if he would be able to deal with the phone calls, "Thanks, bro. I'll see you later."_

Kurt hung up his phone and then started to dial Mercedes.

* * *

Finn walked through the door into the waiting room. Finn didn't like the smell of hospitals, it reminded him of when his Nana died. She was in the hospital for a week, and they visited her everday before she died.

"Hey, Artie," Finn said handing him a cup of coffee. It was getting late; 1:15 A.M. last time Finn checked, and there was school tomorrow, although Finn doubted he would go.

"Hey, Finn, any news yet?" Artie asked while blowing on his hot cup of coffee before taking a sip.

"No, not yet." Finn replied.

They sat there in silence for several minutes, until Kurt walked through the doors with Mercedes and Tina following him.

"Hey, Finn, Artie," Kurt said as he walked up to them, "the rest of the gang should be getting here soon, including Mr. Schuester. He insisted he come. So... hear anything?"

"We've been sitting here for four hours, and they still haven't said anything," Artie complained.

"Hm. I'll go try to get some answers," Kurt flipped his hair and walked off to find a doctor.

Shortly, everyone else arrived. Mr. Schue, Santana, Brittany, Mike, Sam, Rachel, and Quinn. Kurt got back from his unsuccessful search, everyone greeted each other, and waited in silence for news.

The glee kids were either half asleep or fiddling around when finally a doctor came in the waiting room, "Are you all here for Noah Puckerman?"

Finn lifted his head up and looked to the doctor. "Yeah," he said, standing up anxiously. Everyone who was previously sleeping was now wide awake anxious to hear the results.

"I see. Well your friend sustained some pretty bad injuries. Mr. Puckerman has a concussion, multiple rib fractures, and three broken ribs; one of which, punctured his lung, causing pneumothorax," The doctor said looking at his chart.

"Is that bad?" Quinn asked concerned more than ever.

"It means his lung collapsed. We were able to insert a chest tube in his lung for decompression. It's a good thing you got him here when you did, it probably saved his life. He will have to keep the tube in for a day or two, but other than that he will be fine after a few weeks rest."

"That's great news, thank you doctor," Mr. Schuester said for the group.

"How long 'til we can see him, doc?" Finn asked.

"Well, Mr. Puckerman is still recovering. If any of you were family, I would allow you to see him, but otherwise, You'll have to wait until morning."

"Wait. Where is Puck's mom?" Artie asked.

"Doesn't the hospital have their number on an emergency call list?" Finn asked the doctor.

"Let me check with the nurse," The doctor left and came back a few minutes later, "It seems that the nurses have already called a Mrs. Puckerman. We left her a message on her answering machine, but she didn't pick up."

"That's strange," Finn wondered then turned his attention back towards the doctor, "Hey doc, you gotta let me see him. His family isn't here, atleast someone should check up on him."

"I'm sorry, young man. I can't do that. Hospital policies. You can come back in the morning and see him at eight o' clock." Finn understood that the doctor was only doing his job, but c'mon, really?

"He'll do that," Mr. Schue added for Finn, seeing as if Finn was about to protest, "C'mon guys, it's getting late. We should get going."

Most of the New Directions kids followed Mr. Schue out. The only ones left in the room were Finn and Kurt.

"So," Kurt broke the ice,"Are you gonna stay here all night?"

"Yeah, I can't just leave him here all alone. You wouldn't feel right either, knowing Puck was all alone in the hospital with no one waiting for him. What if he woke up and he needed someone? No one would be there... I have to stay."

Finn might had not gotten along with Puck sometimes, but he still considered Puck like a brother. They were kind of similar in a way. They were both jocks that were in glee club. They both cared about their friends, Puck just didn't show it as much. And they both lost their dad's, even though in different ways; Finn's dad died, Puck's dad abandoned him. Maybe that's why they were so alike. They never had father figures to point them in the directions they needed to go; they had to find their own way.

"I understand," Kurt was glad to have Finn as a step-brother, "I still can't believe Puck's mom isn't here though."

"I don't know, dude. It was late. They could have been asleep," Finn thought there had to be an explanation.

"Hmm... whatever you say Finn. Well, I'm gonna go home and get some sleep before school tomorrow. At least it's Friday. See ya later," Kurt waved and walked out the door.

Finn was there all alone now. The only thing he could do, now, was wait.

* * *

Finn's so loyal, isn't he? Makes me wanna give him a big hug. Anyways, I was thinking about finishing the story this chapter, but then I got so into it I just couldn't finish it up just yet. So maybe the next chapter will be the last ;) Enjoy.


	6. Awake

Chapter 6: Awake

* * *

Finn had been wide awake until it was finally eight o'clock. Dark bags had started to form underneath his eyes since he hadn't gotten any sleep for over twenty four hours. When it was almost eight, a nurse wearing a light blue uniform came in the waiting room.

"Young man, you can come and see your friend now." The nurse said.

Finn got up and followed the nurse to Puck's room. Before they walked in the room, the nurse stopped and said, "He is still asleep and we're expecting him to wake up later, so try not to disturb him."

"Okay, maam." Finn said quickly, eager to get to his friend.

"He's lucky he has a friend like you, ya' know." The nurse said opening the door for Finn.

Finn didn't know what to say, so he just nodded his head to her and walked in. He didn't always realize how kind he himself was. Finn thought he was just doing what he would want someone else to do for him.

The door closed behind him as he walked in. His eyes wandered the room until he saw Puck lying in a hospital bed. Finn just stared. Puck looked so vulnerable. When Puck was asleep like that, hooked up too all those machines, it was hard to believe he used to torment and bully people. Finn snapped out of his trance when he heard the steady beep of the heart monitor. They had a chair next to Puck's bed, so Finn made his way over to it and sat down.

Puck was lying on his back. His chest was slowly rising and falling. This sight somehow made Finn feel more comfortable. Puck had a gash on his head near his temple from where Johnson had first punched him. And his face was pale, but not as bad as it had been on the ride to the hospital.

Drowsiness started to kick in, and Finn started to feel all those hours of missed sleep catching up on him as he sat next to Puck's bedside. Finn's eyes started to shut, but he woke himself up quickly trying to resist falling asleep. It was no use. A few minutes later, Finn's eyes started to close. He heard the beep of the heart monitor, until finally, he couldn't hear anything anymore and was overtaken by darkness.

* * *

Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...

_What is that stupid beeping?_

...Beep...Beep...Beep...

_Ughhh, just let me sleep... I don't feel like going to school today..._

...Beep...Beep...Beep...

_...I'm going to destroy whatever's making that noise._

Puck was lying in the hospital bed. His brow was furrowing in annoyance from the constant synchronized beeping sound that was coming from right next to him. He tried to turn over on his side to continue sleeping, but the slight movement sent a sharp pain all throughout his body.

Nope, not gonna do that again, he thought to himself.

He figured the only way to continue sleeping was to turn off whatever was making that beeping noise. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open and he stared at the ceiling. He tried not to make any sudden movements, in fear that his body would start aching with pain again, so he turned his head slowly to the right and saw a bunch of machines, and wait... was that a heart monitor?

Then it all came back to him. The game. The fight. The ride to the hospital.

"Ugh..." He moaned. He was in a hospital. Great. Fan-fuckin-tastic.

He turned his head back to the ceiling and sighed in defeat. Then, he thought he heard something, like a soft breathing, next to him. So he turned his head the other way and saw Finn. His arms were folded against the left-side of the bed with his head against them. It was kinda like how Puck slept in his desk during his English class.

"Finn..." Puck croaked out. Wow, his voice sounded terrible.

Finn made a slight snort sound while sleeping against Puck's bedside. Puck watched him astonished. Finn is actually here for him.

"Finn," He said again, but not sounding as bad this time. Finn didn't stir, so Puck moved his arm and slightly swatted him on the backside of his head, "Finn. Wake up, you're drooling all over my bed."

"Huhm what? hmwhathappened?" Finn lifted his head up almost falling out of his chair. Then he locked eyes with Puck. Puck was staring at Finn with his eyebrow arched, "Hey, man! You're awake." Finn said surprised.

"I should say the same thing to you." Puck replied with his eyebrow still arched.

"Hah.. yeah. So, how're you feeling?" Finn asked.

"Uh, you know. I'm fine, my whole body aches, especially my chest, but I'm fine none-the-less." Puck said half-heartedly, "So, what happened?"

Finn started, "Well, the doc says you got a concussion, fractured and broken ribs. And one of your ribs punctured your lung. He said they had to stick a tube in your chest to keep you alive." Finn took a deep breath as he let Puck soak up the information he had just told him. Puck and Finn both looked down at the small tube that was hiding under the sheets of Puck's bed and connected to a machine to the right of him. It was a scary thought, though; how close Puck had come to loosing his life.

Puck just blinked. He didn't really comprehend the seriousness of it all, "I...," Puck began but was interrupted by his growling stomach. Since he had been living off snack food and sodas for the past few weeks and hadn't eaten anything for a day, he was pretty hungry. "Mmm... we need some food up in this piece." He looked around and saw there was a button to contact a nurse.

"Hey, check it out." Puck grinned and pushed the button, "Room service, biatch."

Finn chuckled and they waited for the nurse to come and return with some food.

Once Puck got his food, he scarfed it down while saying, "Wow. Hospital food is terrible. Blech! That's nasty." But he just kept eating away.

"Then why are you eating it?" Finn watched as his friend eat like he hadn't eaten in days, "Dude, calm down. We don't need you choking to death."

He gave Finn a slight smiled. Then when he finished, he asked, "So... did my mom come by?"

"The hospital called her and left her a message, but I haven't seen her. You want me to call her and make sure?" Finn asked, feeling bad Puck's mom wasn't there.

"No! I mean... nah it's okay, man. I'm sure she'll come by later or something. No big deal." Puck said kind of hurt.

Finn wasn't sure if he should ask, but he did anyway, "Is.. is there something going on between you and your mom?"

Puck was sitting upright in the hospital bed. Well, as much as he could, considering if he sat up any straighter it would be very painful. He tried to hide his trouble, "No, it's just, you know. The usual."

"What's 'the usual'?" Finn said, not buying it.

"Look, dude. She's just pissed at me. Let's just leave it at that." Puck said not wanting to get into it anymore.

"She's that pissed at you that she won't even come see you in the hospital? Dude, that's low. What the hell's going on?" Finn knew something was going on with Puck. He couldn't just let him hide it anymore.

Puck didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell Finn. Could he? No. Then he looked in Finn's eyes and thought, _Well,_ _he has been a really good friend. He's been here for me all night. __But... oh, screw it._

"My mom kicked me out."

Finn didn't expect that, "What do you mean she kicked you out? She kicked you out of her house?"

"Yeah, dude. Just like that." Puck said like it was no big deal.

"When?" Finn asked. This was like when Quinn's parents kicked her out when they found out she was pregnant.

"Since I got out of juvie." Puck said. Rethinking about it was bothering him a little.

"Jeez, dude. Where have you been living?" Finn couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Puck just paused. He didn't say anything, he just looked into Finn's eyes shamefully.

"Puck. Where have you been living?" Finn asked again more seriously.

Puck put his head down and quietly mumbled, "Inthelockerroom."

"What?" Finn asked.

"In the locker room! Okay? I'm a homeless. I live in the locker room at the school. Happy?" Puck didn't want to sound mad at Finn. He just hated admitting it.

"Dude... why didn't tell me?" Finn asked Puck.

Puck lied down on his back and looked at the ceiling, "I don't know, man. It's just you and me, we haven't exactly got along so well since Quinn," he cringed a little with sadness when he said her name, "Besides, I was gonna ask Artie, before that idiot, Johnson, started whaling on me."

"Still... that means you've been living there for like... weeks." Finn added with amazement.

"Yeah it's not so bad. I just don't have much money. So any food is good food." Puck said with a yawn. He was starting to get sleepy again. He's never been this exhausted so quickly in all his life.

"You know, you could crash with me, dude. My room's huge, and I got a bunk bed. It took awhile, but I finally got all of Kurt's stuff out of my room." Finn offered. It wouldn't be so bad with Puck, he thought. They were already with each other most of the time anyway.

"Finn, you know you don't need to do that... Besides, I don't know how Hummel will feel about that," Puck eyelids were getting heavy.

"I want to, Puck. You can stay with me, and Kurt won't mind... he was kind of worried about you, too," Finn said sincerely.

"Hah, yeah right, Hummel? Worried about me? That's a good one." Puck yawned again, "... Are you sure you want me around, Finn?" Puck aked quietly as he started to close his eyes. He couldn't fight off the exhaustion.

"Yeah, Puck. I really do. We can be, like, ... brothers. Including Kurt." Finn smiled at the statement.

"Hmm..," Puck was almost asleep now, "I've always wanted a brother." A few seconds later, not being able to fight off the exhaustion, Puck had fallen asleep.

Finn watched as Puck fell asleep. He was relieved, after all this time, he was now sure Puck was gonna be fine. Puck looked way better than he had just an hour ago.

By this time now, school was almost over. Finn thought he'd stop by the McKinley High and get some stuff done. Then he'd come back and stay with Puck for a little while. Who knows maybe he'd be released from the hospital by sometime this weekend.

"I'll be right back, bro. Get better." Finn said to Puck while he was sleeping.

With that, Finn left the room.

* * *

Kurt wasn't exactly so sure about how he felt about the Warblers and his new high school. Okay, sure, there was Blaine, but ever since he's been there, Blaine's been acting kind of different from when Kurt first met him.

Everyone wears the same uniform. No one can express their individuality, and Kurt won't even have a solo for the Sectionals. Maybe he would reconsider this whole transfer.

Well, since the day was over, Kurt thought he would see how Finn was doing at the hospital. Maybe, he would even see how Puck was doing. Not that he cared. Why should I care, he thought Puck just bullied him all sophomore year. Puck slushied his shirt, threw him in dumpsters. Why should I feel sorry for him? Even though... Puck has changed this year. He's actually been nicer towards Kurt. He says hi to him in the halls and isn't as ashamed to talk to him in public. Finn even told Kurt about how Puck prayed for his dad, even thought Kurt doubt that helped any.

Once Kurt got to the hospital he didn't see Finn in the waiting room so he figured he was with Puck.

"Excuse me, could you direct me to the room of Noah Puckerman." Kurt asked a nurse politely.

"Certainly, follow me." She replied.

Kurt followed her into the room, but when he looked inside he didn't see Finn. He just saw Puck sleeping in the hospital bed all alone.

"Hm? He must have left," Kurt said to himself.

"Hummel?" Puck opened his eyes after hearing Kurt's voice. It had been an hour since Finn left, so he got a decent amount of sleep.

"Oh hey, Noah. How are you?" Kurt asked trying to show little concern.

"I'm better. I must say, though, two visitors in one day... that beats my juvie visits by a long shot," Puck joked.

"Haha, so I guess that means you saw Finn?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, he was here," Puck continued, "I guess he left."

"Oh, oh well. That tube in your chest looks great on you by the way." Kurt humored Puck.

"Yeah, it does make me look pretty badass." Puck admired himself, "But enough about me, how's your new school?"

"It's alright. I mean... it's pretty good." Kurt didn't want anyone to think he made a bad decision by leaving.

"Yeah, well, I still say we could have formed a barrier around you like those secret service guys." Puck added.

Kurt giggled a little, but not to much. He didn't want to make Puck think that he won Kurt over just because all of a sudden he's a nice guy.

Then Puck continued, "Oh, and wait 'til Finn tells you the big news." He grinned evily and laughed.

"Wait. What are you talking about, Puckerman?" Kurt was nervous, now. Puck had that look in his eye. This can't be good.

"Oh you'll see," Puck said.

"What? You better spill Puckerman, or so help me God..." Kurt had stopped mid-sentence when he saw Puck's face freeze and get serious. Puck was looking behind Kurt, so he turned around. Standing there, was Puck's mom.

"Hey, Ma." Puck said dryly.

She just stood there looking angry.

"Aren't you gonna say anything? Here I'll help you: 'Hey son, are you alright? I'm glad you're not dead.'" Puck said with a sarcastic tone.

"You... You're just like your father!" She said firmly.

"It's not like I wanted this. I'm in the hospital for Christ's sake! What the hell is your problem?" Puck couldn't believe his mom was doing this right now. Here. And in front of Kurt, no less.

"I know you were involved in a fight. A fight! Just like your father. Your scum just like him," Puck's mom said without a hint of remorse.

The room was silent. Kurt was watching the events unfolding around him. That was one of the cruelest things Kurt had ever heard. Wow, Kurt thought to himself, Puck's mom is a total bitch.

"But, Ma, that fight, it was..." Puck tried to defend himself, but was cut off.

"I don't want to hear it. Kicking you out was a smart move. I don't want your influence on your sister either. I don't want her becoming trash like you or your father. Just another deadbeat." Puck just stared at his mom. No. He couldn't deal with this now.

"You kicked him out?" Kurt asked butting in the conversation and making himself visible, "You kicked, Noah, your own _son _out of your house?"

"What's it to ya'? Who are you anyway?" Puck's mom asked uninterested.

"He's my friend," Puck said defending Kurt, "and I think you should leave. Now."

"I'll leave when I want to leave!" She proclaimed.

"Actually, I can have security come and take you away right now if I wanted to. So you can leave the easy way or the hard way. Your choice." Puck said raising his eyebrows.

She just looked at Puck appalled and stormed out of the room.

Kurt was still in a little shock, but then he turned to Puck, "What. A. Bitch."

Puck replied, "Tell me about it."

* * *

Next chapter for sure, and I'll wrap it up. I hope you liked the Kurt and Puck banter. I know I did. And thanks for all the reviews :)


	7. Brothers

Chapter 7: Brothers

* * *

Kurt had stayed with Puck for a little while longer after Puck's mom left. They talked about simple things like school, football, glee. Kurt wanted to talk about Blaine and how he was starting to feel about him, but he wasn't so sure Puck would feel comfortable having that talk, so he just kept it to himself. Eventually, Kurt had left once Puck had fell asleep again.

Just as Kurt was about to exit the doors of the hospital, Finn walked in.

"Hey, Finn, I was looking for you earlier." Kurt said to Finn.

"Oh hey, bro. Yeah, I was just getting my work from school, and I was talking to some people. They kept stopping me in the hallways asking about Puck... Speaking of Puck, how is he?" Finn asked.

"Puck? He's fine. Much better, actually. He just fell asleep." Kurt shrugged his shoulders.

"Again? Hm, must be tired." Finn stated simply, "Well, I guess I'll see you back home later. I'll probably be there later tonight."

"Okay Finn, don't stay out too late. You look like you could use some sleep yourself." Kurt said noting Finn's messy hair and the bags under his eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm good," That's what Finn said, but really he felt like he could fall asleep at any moment.

"Alright. I'll see you later then," And with that Kurt was gone within a minute.

Finn spent the rest of the day watching over Puck while he slept. Puck woke up once again around dinner time. Puck was hungry, so Finn made a quick run to a McDonald's that way he and Puck didn't have to eat disgusting hospital food for dinner. After eating, they had talken a little bit more about random things. They had also talked about Quinn.

"You know, it's kinda weird," Finn said to Puck, "It almost seems like ever since Quinn had her baby, you two haven't said one word to each other."

"Yeah, well, I promised her I'd give her some space," Puck said with a hint of sadness, "She went through a lot last year. She deservse time for herself. Time to enjoy high school, I guess."

Finn nodded his head in understantment, "But she's dating Sam. Honestly, everyone in Glee was surprised you didn't beat him up. We even had a bet going on."

"Nah, I wouldn't do that. Not because of Sam; I could care less about that guy, but it would hurt Quinn. I don't want her to be mad at me, I think she really cares about Sam," Puck actually thought ahead this time.

"That's good, man," Finn remebered when he was mad at Puck for being the father. After all that stress he had been put through, having to think about his future with a child, it had been Puck's baby all along. But now, Finn was glad Puck was the father. It showed him that Quinn wasn't the right girl for him, and that he didn't have to the stress that came with taking care or letting go of a child. Puck seemed okay with the desicsion Quinn came to of putting the baby up for adoption. Puck hadn't really ever even mention his baby, Beth. Finn didn't think he himself could ever let go of his child of his like that. So he wondered aloud, "...Was it hard? Giving away Beth?"

Puck didn't know how to react to that question, but as soon as he heard Beth's name, his face looked as sad as Finn had ever seen it, "I...," Puck started, but didn't know how to go on, "...uh, she... um," he took a deep breath and cleared his thoughts, "Yeah. It's still hard thinking about it, but it was Quinn's descision, not mine. Besides, Beth's probably better off with someone else."

Finn just sat in silence staring at Puck, so Puck went on, "I still see her face when I think about her. She was beautiful, ya' know. What made it harder was knowing that it was my baby girl, and she wouldn't even know her father," Puck's sadness was turning into anger, "I constantly ask myself questions like 'Is she ever going to get sad wondering who her real parents are? Who her dad is?', 'Will I ever see her again?', 'Did she think we abandoned her?'. I just keep thinking about when my dad wasn't there for me. I always wondered what it would be like to play catch with my dad. I wondered what it would be like if my dad taught me how to ride my bike, or held me on his shoulders, or be there when I graduate high school. But he wasn't there and he never will be. What if Beth feels like that? I... I don't want her to feel as bad as I did when my dad wasn't there. I wish I could be there for her. What if she thinks I don't care about her? That... that I just abandoned her..." Puck thought about it for a second and looked up to see Finn's surprised face. He figured he had been rambling too much so he decided to stop.

"Your lucky, ya' know," Puck added one last thing, "That was the hardest thing to do in my life; giving away Beth."

"I'm sorry, man," Finn was sad for Puck now. The akward silence had been broken once they started talking about football and how much they hated Karofsky. They continued until late at night. Finn said goodbye to Puck, drove home, and then went to bed. Puck had a little trouble at first falling back to sleep. It was weird being in a hospital a night. It was creepy, but he was still really tired and fell asleep within an hour.

Puck had to stay at the hospital for the rest of the weekend. Finn, Kurt, and some other glee members stopped by like Artie, and Rachel. But not Quinn...

The hospital released him at noon on Monday. He still hurt, but the pain was tolerable.

Puck figured he'd go to school after he'd been released because, really, he had nothing better to do, and the school was only a short walk away. By the time he got there, people were in the halls getting ready for their next class. Puck wasn't going to go to his class. He'd rather sit in the bathroom stalls and do nothing for the rest of the day, than sit in class listening to his stupid teachers ramble on. If they were so smart, whey were they still teachers? He thought. Besides, he still felt like crap.

Puck was walking through the halls, and people were looking at him and whispering. They must of heard about him going to the hospital. This is kinda how people reacted when he came back from juvie, but not as bad.

Puck was walking by the supposedly empty New Directions room when all of a sudden someone grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him in the room, which had caught him offgaurd.

"Hey! What the fu-" Puck yelled but was interupted by his abductor.

"Shhh. Not so loud," That voice was familiar. He turned around and confirmed his theory that it was in fact Quinn Fabray.

"Quinn?" Puck was surpised but happy to see her.

Quinn just sighed, what was she doing? If she was seen with Puck it could ruin her. Sam wouldn't trust her, and everyone would think they were dating again, but that didn't matter right now. Quinn was genuionly concerned about Puck, "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Puck said bewildered.

Quinn was staring at Puck's face in silence, studying him. Then, Quinn slowly and lightly put a hand on Puck's chest where Quinn knew his injury had been. She didn't think that if she touched him that softly it would hurt him, but he still groaned in pain and moved back a little.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Quinn said worried that she might have hurt Puck.

"No! No... It's alright. Really," Puck said even though the pain was bad when Quinn touched his chest.

Quinn stared at him sadly. He had been trying all this time to give her space, and then Puck goes and gets injured and sent to the hospital.

"You should be more careful," Quinn said as she started walking around Puck to get to the door to leave, but before she left she turned around to face Puck. She stood on her tippy-toes and gave Puck a little kiss on the cheek, "Don't ever scare me like that again," Quinn whispered in his ear and then left with the door shutting behind her.

Puck just stood there with wide-eyes and confusion. What did that mean? Did that mean she still had feelings for him? It was probably just a get well kiss. That's what Puck would assume. He couldn't get his hopes up to high, but it was still progress. After regaining his composure, he smiled and left the room.

* * *

After school, Finn was speeding down the hallways to get to Puck. Wait until he heard the news. He turned a corner and ran into Puck. Literally.

When they collided, they fell back on the floor. Puck was in a little more pain than Finn due to his injuries, so Finn quickly got up and held out a hand to Puck.

"Hey, dude. Sorry about that," Finn said sincerely as he pulled Puck back up to his feet.

"Don't worry about it," Puck said trying to mask his pain as he dusted himself off.

Finn lit up, "I was just looking for you, too. Great news, man. Mr. Schue found out who gave away the set list for Sectionals."

"Really? Who was it?" Puck asked. He was kind of interested who had made him suffer through that mess, but after all he'd been through, he also kinda didn't care.

"It was Mr. Ryerson, the old Glee Club teacher. Turns out, he had been bugging the place and listening to all the songs we've been singing. He was also the one who tried to destroy the glee instruments." Finn said with a smile on his face, glad they could actually prove it wasn't Puck who betrayed them.

"That's great," Puck said trying to be interested.

Finn noticed Puck's disinterest and added, "And Glee is all really sorry they ever doubted you..."

"They should be," Puck stated, "No worries, though. I guess it's sort of payback to me for last year, anyway," Puck wouldn't hold it against them. If he were in their position, he would of thought it was himself, too.

They started walking to the parking lot when Finn said, "So, you have everything you need?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I can get my other stuff tomorrow or something," Puck still wasn't sure if Finn would be okay with living with him, but Puck would do everything he could to try to prove he was grateful for what Finn was doing for him.

"I already talked to my parents about it and they're cool with it." Finn added.

"Did you tell Kurt yet?" Puck asked.

"No. Hm, I don't think he knows yet," Finn had forgotten about Kurt.

"That's perfect," Finn looked over to see Puck's evil smile had spread across his face.

Uh oh, Finn thought.

When they arrived at Finn's house and walked through the door, the spotted Kurt sitting on the couch browsing through the TV. Kurt noticed someone had walked in. He looked up lazily from the TV and saw Puck standing next to Finn and Kurt's eyes went wide.

"What are you doing here, Puckerman?" Kurt asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Well... remember when I told you there was 'big news'?" Puck asked with a smile.

"Yeah...," Kurt thought back to that time in the hospital, "Wait..."

Then it hit Kurt, "No." he exclaimed unbelievingly, "NO. You're joking right? This is a joke?" Kurt asked Finn. Finn just shrugged his shoulders.

Puck just walked closer to Kurt and threw himself on the couch next to Kurt.

"Guess what Hummel," Puck said as he put his arm around Kurt. Kurt was a little uneased by this, but then Puck finished his statement, "We're roomates, now," Puck said pointing at Finn, "that means we'll be living right across the hall from each other. Isn't that great?" Puck started to rough around with Kurt jokingly. Puck was messing up Kurt's hair and teasing him like an older brother would do to a younger brother. Kurt broke free from Puck and stood up from his spot on the couch.

"This might be your home temporarily, but I hope you know that my room is off limits. You are not even to touch the door handle of my room." Kurt pointed out firmly.

"Nah, it's cool. We can be like brothers. I can play pranks on you, I can break into your room. Hey! I can even read your diary when your not home," Puck said just imagining the possibilities.

"Why me?" Kurt said storming off to his room, "This is gonna be a disaster!"

Puck just looked up to Finn and smiled, "Oh yeah. We're gonna get along just fine."

* * *

Well that's it. The ending to my first Glee story. I just wanna say a few things.

Okay, first of all, I hate endings. Ending a story is way harder for me than starting a story. My favorite part of a story is the climax, and I'm really sad I had to end this story, but glad now I can start another one. I really hope you guys enjoyed my fic. One more thing, if you didn't already know, this whole fic was kinda inspired by Michael Buble's "Lost". Listen to it if you want. Thanks for reading :)


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